Hot Line: Gift at the door makes credit card bills soar

An alert reader emailed Hot Line about a scam new to this area that can cause identity theft, big credit card bills and much trouble for victims.

By Anna Lee Brendza

Times Reporter

By Anna Lee Brendza

Posted Oct. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 28, 2012 at 12:16 PM

By Anna Lee Brendza

Posted Oct. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 28, 2012 at 12:16 PM

An alert reader emailed Hot Line about a scam new to this area that can cause identity theft, big credit card bills and much trouble for victims. It begins with a telephone call from someone claiming to be from “Express Couriers” or a similar name, asking if you are going to be home because a package will be delivered in about an hour. The caller doesn’t ask for information, which makes it sound legitimate.

A delivery man appears at your door with a big basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. He says the card will arrive by mail, and in the meantime, enjoy the flowers and wine.

Then he says there is a $3.50 charge to be put on your credit card “for delivery and to prove I delivered it to you and not to anybody else or a child because of the alcohol content.” You give the deliverer your credit card and he swipes it through a small mobile card machine and keypad where he also enters the security number. Then the machine prints out a receipt and he gives it to you.

Not long after that, you discover that several thousand dollars has been charged to your credit card account at ATM machines in various locations far from your home. Your credit card company may call you to report this and ask if the charges are legitimate, or your monthly bill may arrive showing the charges.

The “mobile credit card machine” the deliverer carried duplicated your credit card and the con artists used it to get money.

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“I knew the call was from a telemarketer as soon as I answered it,” a reader told Hot Line. “The caller was trying to sell me one of those emergency necklaces you hang around your neck and push a button for help.

“I asked her where she was from, but she wouldn’t tell me. I am sure it was from far away. If I ever get one of those things,” she continued, “I would get it from somebody around here, because I would feel safer dealing with them than with somebody far off who uses a telemarketer. I asked her the name of the company she was calling for and she said Senior Medical Benefits. Can you find any information about it?”

Hot Line commends her for her good sense. It’s almost always better to deal with merchants and companies in this area. We tried to find information about the company, but Better Business Bureau reports show no record of any company named Senior Medical Benefits.

On other Internet sources, there were warnings about companies using variations of the name. We think our reader was wise to hang up.